Practice and COVID: Shi Qi
The second stage of my YTT experience can be termed as “Practice and COVID”. As the name suggest, no prize for guessing what happened during the next few weeks of the YTT journey. As the number of COVID cases rises, so did our frustration and anxiety. From mask on practice to mask off practice to mask on practice, we don’t really know what is happening anymore. But through it all, I am glad the restrictions and precautions are in place and that we really tried our best to keep to them. COVID scares are not uncommon as of that point in time and kudos to everyone in The Yoga Mandala (especially Jess and Alexis) for trying to keep us safe! Oh, not to forget! We had our exclusive experience of dining at the famous pond area for lunch! One does not simply graduate from YTT without going through this rite of passage. So back to practice, curious what happens to the body now? I am proud to say that while 6.30am call time during the weekends is still a struggle, it does not come off as rude shock to the body anymore (at least for mine). Drills still draws the life away from me but they strongly became more bearable. This is also a time whereby your life starts to get infiltrated by Sanskrits and teaching instructions. And you are beginning to wonder how can breathing (when combined with instructions and demonstration) be so difficult? Learning is definitely limited by the restrictions but I am definitely amazed by the adaptability that everyone has shown. And this is also the time that you get past that initial awkward stage with everyone else and venturing into the different topics of our lives helps to bring everyone closer (to bear in mind the time limit though…. your arms might not thank you if you are asked to do extra push ups). Shi Qi 200HR YTT
The Six Stages of YTT- as I coined them: Shi Qi
Being a mental health practitioner, no doubts I would love a model or theory which summarizes my experiences in a concrete stages. So here I have, the Six Stages of my YTT experience, as I have personally gone through them myself. The first stage of my YTT experience can be easily termed as “Uncertainty and Apprehension”, most visibly felt during the first two to three weeks from starting the YTT. This stage, is characterized by not knowing what is going on (literally), struggling to grasp everyone’s names (is it only me?), getting past the awkward stage and at the same time, trying to learn the expectations of the course. Not to mention, getting the body used to the 6.30am call time on weekends. I mean, I am an early riser but I got to admit, I struggle with this too. Seems like there are only negatives in these first few weeks? Arguably so, but along with that came a sense of accomplishment of surviving the first few weeks and not dying (literally), the realization that the body and mind can do so much more and also, meeting people whom you know you can count on for support throughout this journey. During this period of time, mind shifts happens as well, poses that you thought you have been doing for the longest time seemed to have a different interpretation and sensation to them and best thing is, you might be doing them wrongly for your whole life (okay, maybe not whole life but part of my life). They say that habits takes time to cultivate but I think the first few weeks accelerated that and through the weekday homework, discipline is being instill as well. Isn’t this then part of the spirit of Yoga? In the next stage, let’s see how this Uncertainty and Apprehension evolved! Shi Qi 200HR YTT
#4
On the fifth and sixth week of YTT, we have completed all the asana sequences and we were tasked to conduct the sequencing individually during our practical practice. It is definitely not easy as we have to understand each pose in order to break down the necessary instructions. However with this practice, I feel that I am able to know more on getting the posture right for my own future practice. Every week is a challenging yet motivational week for me to see myself slowly progress along the way. Sheena 200 Hour YTT Oct’20
Christine: Meditation
An aspect of yoga that I’ve learned to love over the past few months is meditating. In YTT we’ve done different techniques to really slow down our breath and calm our minds. Whether it’s breathing techniques like Nadi shoguns or ujjayi or doing visualization methods, it’s been a great experience learning about the different ways we can meditate. Most recently I’ve been trying the 21 day meditation challenge with Deepak Chopra – the law of abundance. This has gone really well alongside YTT as each day we focus on a different mantra. Many of the theories and concepts presented in this meditation challenge match what we have learned in YTT and it’s been great to intertwine the 2 teachings into one. Meditation is safe for everyone and can really help to relax and calm down during stressful situations. I hope everyone has a chance to try meditation in their own lives 🙂 Christine Feb’20 Weekend YTT
Val – Alignment and Adjustments 5/6
As part of YTT, we had to learn how to approach people, adjust them, to help them grow their practice. When teaching pole fitness, those were objectives I similarly had and have been doing BUT having Jess discuss it, the repercussions, the to-dos and don’t dos were so useful; I’ve added them to my databank of skills acquired and am applying them in my pole classes too. I now look at people (whilst they are practicing yoga) very differently and in a structured manner as Jessica’s cues run through my mind. From feet to ankles, shin and calves, knees, thighs, hip sockets, back (lower, middle, upper), tailbone, abs and ribs, collarbone, shoulder blades, shoulders, arms, neck and right up to the head – there’s now like a mini sensor that I see running through the person’s body as I seek the areas where I can cue and help the practitioner improve. I love the deepening of this skill with my newfound knowledge, I like how I’m able to be more effective at helping people and I love using it to remind myself of my own alignments and to be more efficient and stronger when I’m practicing or executing moves and combos on the pole. Another major takeaway from YTT! Val July’19 Weekend YTT
Val – Conscious Practice 3/6
My yoga practice re-awakened! Have had my yoga practice plateau for a while already, having fallen into bad habits and occasionally even losing the focus in my practice – but over the last 2 months, being at YTT has woken the practice and re-ignited the focus. It’s good fun, realizing the potential the body has, what I could see myself practicing hard on and hopefully achieving more. I have a new set of milestones to look forward to and in parallel finding satisfaction in just being on the mat, now. It is interesting how decisions made can hugely affect life’s steer. At this moment, there’s no desire to look back, just happy surging forward, learning and enjoying my practice. Val July’19 Weekend YTT
Yin Yin Post #6: Last Few Week of YTT
I can’t believe the weeks have flown by. I am writing this blog post with just a few weeks of YTT left and I am so grateful for everything that I have learned from my experience: Getting up at 8am on the weekends is possible and can be enjoyable. When I started YTT, I was most nervous about getting up at 8am on Saturday and Sunday. I was afraid of what I would have to sacrifice from my personal life. However, I was surprised to find out that I ended up enjoying the structure and the consistency that it has brought me. Even though I still go out over the weekends, I don’t let it stop me from having a good workout and lesson the next day. Be Observant and Empathetic: Observant and empathetic teachers make better teachers. Being observant helps me to understand others’ bodies, stay mindful of their strengths/weaknesses, and tailor poses to best suit their needs. Communicate the “why”: It’s not enough just to be observant. It’s also important as teachers for us to communicate to the students why we’re doing certain poses. It’s our role to guide the students and show them the importance of key poses to help them deepen their practice. The teachers here keep it real: Jess and Alexis, the two teachers that we interacted with the most during our YTT are very open with feedback. This is so good as you’re learning because you know immediately what you need to work on and what you’re good at. Don’t Eat Too Much Before You Practice Your Poses : Eating too much makes you sick. I learned the hard way. Overall, I’m so glad I took the course with Jessica at Yoga Mandala. The studio gave me the flexibility to pursue this interest of mine over the weekends. I am also very satisfied with the quality of teaching and the care that Jessica demonstrates towards her students. Her instructions are super detailed and she was always so much fun and made us laugh. Would highly recommend this course for anyone considering to pursue 200YTT. Ou Yin Yin July’19 Weekend YTT
Yin Yin Post #5: Observing and Adjusting Students’ Postures
One of my favourite YTT classes so far at Yoga Mandala has been observing our bodies and helping each other adjust our postures. It has been a highlight because: 1) It has taught me to be super observant of others’ bodies. To be teachers, we have to put the students’ needs first. This means that we have to observe our students’ bodies, understand their strengths and weakness, and help them adjust their poses accordingly. Jess, our teacher, was very helpful in pointing out the various parts of the body to observe. I was surprised to learn there are so many nuances of the body to look out for. Ex. Are the students’ shoulders even? Is there a hunch? Is there a flat back? Understanding these signals allows me to come up with poses that are best suited for their bodies. 2) It has taught me the importance of tailoring communication to the audience. After you identify parts of the student’s body that needs adjusting, the next part is actually communicating to the student on how to adjust. The students need to understand why they’re doing these specific poses, and it’s the role of the teacher to provide that context. I found this part to be the most challenging because the instructions that make sense to me don’t necessarily resonate in the same way to someone else. I found that at times when I provide instructions, the student actually did the opposite of what I had originally intended for them to do. This was super frustrating! The two lessons above have been the most valuable: build empathy for the student and communicate the why. Ou Yin Yin July’19 Weekend YTT
Yin Yin Post #4: The Mind and the Present Moment
One of the most important lessons that I’ve learned from YTT is that your mental strength is just as important as your physical strengthen when it comes to improving the quality of your practice. Mental strength is about the ability for your mind to stay present and to silence the external noise. According to a Harvard study, almost half of our waking hours is spent thinking about something other than what we’re doing. “Unlike other animals, humans spend a lot of time thinking about what isn’t going on around them: contemplating events that happened in the past, might happen in the future, or may never happen at all. Indeed, mind-wandering appears to be the human brain’s default mode of operation.” What’s concerning is that the study suggests a correlation between a wandering mind and an unhappy mind. How often our minds leave the present and where they tend to go is a better predictor of our happiness than the activities in which we are engaged.” Yoga teaches the mind to be present and to resist wandering. In particular, focusing on the breath allows me to stay present and aware of my body. This is was a surprising benefit for me joining YTT. I had originally intended to get more in shape physically. However, I was surprised at how much training the mind to be present impacted my overall satisfaction. I am excited to learn more about the breathing exercises and to also teach these techniques to my future students. Ou Yin Yin July’19 Weekend YTT
Yin Yin Post #3: Teaching for the First Time
The first time teaching sun salutation to the entire class was one of the most nerve wrecking experiences so far during my YTT course. I was nervous because 1) Doing something new is scary. I was so used to being the student and I didn’t know what to expect as a teacher, 2) Big groups can be intimidating. There were so many girls in the room that I felt like I didn’t want to mess up their poses, 3) I was afraid I would forget the different posts. We each went up to the front of the room and instructed the students on sun salutation poses. I was grateful that Jess, our teacher, was there to correct me immediately when I forgot a pose or accidentally confused the different names. The girls in the class were super supportive and had great attitudes. They were particularly cool when I took a bit longer to remember the next pose. The only way to grow is to consistently push ourselves outside of our comfort zones. I’m glad that Jess, our teacher, constantly does this and I’m even more grateful for this opportunity to practice teaching. Practicing to teach has taught me to be more confident and more comfortable with making mistakes. Ou Yin Yin July’19 Weekend YTT
